What is Capital Budgeting?


Capital Budgeting is the process of evaluating, checking, and implementing a large-scale project that requires a significant amount of money. Capital budgeting may be required in the acquisition of land and building, purchase of machinery, and marketing a new product of the company. The large-scale money spent in executing these decisions is called capital expenditure.

Budgeting is a process of maximizing profits by allocating money to the appropriate project and managing the project as and when it requires attention.

Capital Budgeting Process

The following five steps are necessary in Capital Budgeting −

Project Identification and Generation

The first step of the capital budgeting process is identifying and generating the project as needed by the company. This may include identifying a new product and implementing a process to make and market it. In the project identification stage, the target audience and the selection of products are of utmost importance.

Project Screening and Evaluation

This step involves screening the right project and assessing the desirability of the project. The objective of the firm must be held high in this step. The tool of the time value of money comes in handy in this step.

This step also includes the estimation of costs and benefits. If the benefits are worth the costs, only then is the next step of the project is selected. The inflow of cash, profits, and uncertainties, and risks must be considered thoroughly in this step.

Project Selection

There is no one method for selecting a project as the requirements of different companies are different based on the final project outcome. The company’s objective and goals must be considered in this step to have a final outlay of the actual project.

The finance team needs to evaluate the various methods of arranging funds in this step. The team also needs to reduce the costs of the project as much as possible and a record of initial expenditures must be made before implementing the next step.

Implementation

After the initial analysis and selection are done, it is time for implementation. In the implementation process, all teams of a company must collaborate with one another. This step also needs step-by-step evaluation of each criterion essential for successful implementation, such as allocating money for each step and creating an account to keep a record of expenditures, etc.

Performance Review

This is the final step of the capital budgeting process. Here, the final outcome is matched with the anticipated one, and steps are taken if there is any disparity. The company must evaluate its primary objectives against the actual results in this step. The insights obtained in this step can be applied in the next project if the outcomes do not match the anticipation. Removing the bottlenecks and creating a smooth strategy are also triggered in this step.

Updated on: 27-Oct-2021

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